Wild Thing runs out of time

Wild Thing ran out of time and distance to set a new race record in the 64th Qantaslink Brisbane to Gladstone race this morning.

Skipper Grant Wharington said the result was very much touch and go for the first to finish honour between their 30m super maxi Wild Thing and the smaller 20.3 m Brisbane maxi chaser Black Jack.

The Mark Bradford skippered Black Jack winner of the line honours trophy in 2009 and 2010 staged a three way nip and tuck match race with Wild Thing and her rival super maxi Lahana when the three high performance yachts raced towards Gladstone at record breaking pace over night.

Unfortunately the first signs of the record challenge fell apart when the high pressure system which had directed a fast sailing trade wind onto the coast drifted offshore leaving behind a weakening wind system.

This favoured the larger maxis Wild Thing and Lahana to exercise the advantage of larger sail area and longer waterline but the crew on Black Jack clearly showed why they are known as the best maxi chaser combination in the nation.

They had shared the lead at various stages in what Grant Wharington described as a great race. “It was like racing in the sun with the glow from the full moon lighting up the deck overnight”. He Said.
Thankfully the change in wind velocity and direction allowed Wild Thing to slip ahead as all three yachts entered the final 25 nautical miles when the record challenge expired at 7-40-50 this morning.

Wild Thing finally ended the interesting line honours match race when they crossed the finish line at 9-34-24, 1 hour 53minutes 34 seconds outside their 20 hour 40 minute 50 second record set in 2004. While Black Jack filled second 17 minutes 34 seconds later followed by the Peter Millar skippered Lahana another 18 minutes 16 seconds astern.